MAGAZINE STORY: Our client Viraf Kapadia, Chairman and CEO of Star Navigation Systems Group Inc  discussed the In Flight Safety Monitoring System (ISMS) and air safety.

Star Navigation says SpiceJet to install inflight monitoring units
Mary Kirby, Philadelphia (22Mar05, 21:59 GMT, 151 words)

Canada’s Star Navigation Systems says it has won a contract from Indian startup SpiceJet to equip the carrier’s entire fleet with an inflight safety monitoring system (ISMS).

Under the deal, Star will deliver three ISMS units to SpiceJet in April. The systems will be installed on the carrier’s Boeing 737-800s by Middle East overhaul firm Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company (GAMCO).

SpiceJet has ordered 10 737-800s and placed options for a further 10. Based on these expansion plans, Star says its contract with SpiceJet will be worth up to $9 million over the next decade.

Star bills the ISMS as the first product of its kind providing real-time flight analysis from cockpit to ground for the duration of a flight.

The Canadian manufacturer says it also plans to introduce an on-board wireless telephone system on SpiceJet aircraft, as well as a WiFi system for high-speed connectivity.

Further details have not been disclosed.